no sugar, sort of

Seems like it’s been awhile since we’ve talked health, fitness or diet. Things I think about constantly…which don’t we all in some way? —- “Man I really need to workout.” “Boy do I need a detox.” “Good grief nice weather is coming and I still feel the holiday bulge.” —- In some way or another thoughts like these come in and out of most of our minds. Whether we do something about them or not is up to us. If you ask me it’s about being ready, and a couple weeks ago I was definitely ready to say au revoir to sugar.

In the past I have touched on fitness and recently shared my experience with correcting my diastatis recti condition. My core has gotten stronger and my back no longer hurts, so something is going right there. But as far as getting back into great shape I am sort of in a “meh” stand still.

So how do we get rid of the “meh”? There are tons of ways but for me it starts with diet. Nothing puts me more in a yuck funk then when I am constantly putting junk into my body. Sugar, in particular processed foods like candy and anything that is meant to sit on a shelf for like ever, clouds my mind and plants a giant road block in my motivation. The “meh” was really getting to me, and after a handful of Cadberry mini eggs I decided enough was enough.

Instead of a major detox [which I wholeheartedly support and have done several times, simply wasn’t ready for it this go around] I opted for a conscious slash of sugar, as well as some flour and dairy. Did I eliminate completely? No. For instance the half & half still made it into my coffee and there was a dinner or two that involved some cheese. But for the most part it was all gone. The first few days were pure hell. A dull annoying headache lingered for over 48 hours (good grief was I grumpy). But after that was over I felt great, no better than great, I felt free of the “meh”.

2 weeks later I can now have a little sugar or a little bread (which I crave far less than I used to) and neither make me want more nor feel weighed down. My belly is far less bloated, and this is the best part, I can think clearly. I am having a hard drive issue at the moment, which is quite frankly incredibly stressful as there are files I don’t want to lose, but I am handling it loads better than I would have earlier this month. Loads better.

So what am I mostly eating? Lots and lots of water and feel good foods. Here’s a condensed breakdown of some of my options:

Breakfast

Coffee with half&half with:

Banana
Oatmeal
Egg, avocado and veggie of some sort

Lunch

Omelet with veggies
Spinach salad with fruit, nuts, olive oil and red wine vinegar
Salad like my avocado chickpea recipe on a plain organic rice cake

Dinner

I make sure I have plenty of brown rice and eat with

roasted veggies
beans and spices
corn tortillas with beans, salsa, avocado

Snacks

unsalted raw almonds
lara bar
rice cake with almond butter
fruit

This is a very simple rundown of what I make sure to have on hand and consume more than other options. Now that I am fairly free of the “meh” I do eat things like pizza for dinner – but I at least try to keep it to one slice and consume a salad to help fill me up. As far as the sugar goes I will of course have a little pancake or a bite of some amazing cookies you will be seeing soon, but there will be no overdoing it. [For example, 2 weeks ago me would have scarfed down 25 jelly beans this past weekend. Today me went the whole Easter weekend without touching candy, well, other than my “Easter Bunny” duties but none went in my mouth.]

If you are not ready for a total detox try this sort of, halfway method. I really didn’t know whether it would work, as I typically start with the full blown detox, but I am so grateful that it seems to be doing the trick.

Now onto amping up the fitness routine and getting myself into good shape. I am so ready.

xoxo,